Sailing craft with stabilizing foil and adjustable rudder

ABSTRACT

A sailing craft including a paddle board hull carrying a sail and having an outrigger mounted canted foil equipped with a fin for added stability. The craft is sailed by a person lying prone on the hull and a longitudinally adjustable rudder is attached to the hull and is manipulated with the feet to steer the craft.

United States Patent 1191 Patterson Feb. 26, 1974 SAILING CRAFT WITH STABILIZING FOIL AND ADJUSTABLE RUDDER [76] Inventor: George W. Patterson, 118 Valley Rd., New Canaan, Conn. 06840 [22] Filed: Aug. 5, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 169,426

[52] US. Cl. 114/39, 9/310 E [51] Int. Cl B63b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 114/39, 66.5 H, 121-123,

114/126, 144 R, 144 A; 115/22; 9/1 R, 2 A, 13, 310 R, 310 E, 310 F, 310 J [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,499 3/1928 Proteau 115/22 1,986,750 1/1935 Ring 115/22 3,150,632 9/1964 Evans 114/123 3,183,871 5/1965 Reder.... 114/665 H 3,520,267 7/1970 Clark 114/665 H FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 22,953 2/1936 Australia 115/22.3

OTHER PUBLICATIONS Follmer, Frank & Tom Riley, Boards for Surf and Sail; Popular Mechanics, July 1958, Vol. 110, pp. 168-172.

Primary ExaminerDuane A. Reger Assistant Examiner-Jesus D. Sotelo Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bacon & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A sailing craft including a paddle board hull carrying a sail and having an outrigger mounted canted foil equipped with a fin for added stability. The craft is sailed by a person lying prone on the hull and a longitudinally adjustable rudder is attached to the hull and is manipulated with the feet to steer the craft.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Pmmiurww 3.793.973

' SHEEI 1 BF 2 INVENTOR GEORGE W. PATTERSQN BY ATTORNEYS PATENTEDFEBZSIHH SHEET 2 [IF 2 NQE INVENTOR GEORGE W. PATTERSON BY. ATTORNEYS SAILING CRAFT WITH STABILIZING FOIL AND ADJUSTABLE RUDDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION v 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to sailing craft. More particularly, it relates to a sailing craft designed to be sailed by a person lying prone thereon, and which includes a unique rudder for steering with the feet, and a unique outrigger mounted foil and fin stabilizer arrangement.

2. Description of the Prior Art There is interest today in small sailing craft that can be utilized by one person, the emphasis in such craft being on simplicity A problem with such vessels is to design them so that they will remain stable and not cap size, and one solution to the problem recently proposed is to equip the craft with a parallel, canted foil mounted laterally from the hull by an outrigger arrangement.

While the canted outrigger-mounted foil does much to give stability to small sailboats that use a hull without a keel, such craft can still be tricky to handle in rough water or in the presence of wind gusts. There is need to add still greater stability to this type of sailing craft, and the present invention is directed toward that need.

A sailing craft needs to be equipped with a rudder so that such can be maneuvered. Conventional rudder arrangements for sailboats commonly include tillers that must be manipulated by hand, and which are relatively bulky in design so that they limit the compactness and simplicity that can be achieved in a sailing craft. There is thus a need for a compact and yet easily adjustable rudder arrangement for small sailboats, which need the present invention is also intended to satisfy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The sailing craft of the present invention is intended to be sailed by one person lying prone thereon, and includes a paddle board hull carrying a mast to which a sail is rigged. A canted stabilizer foil is supported from the hull to lie parallel therewith by an outrigger arrangement, which arrangement is adjustable to vary the spacing between the hull and the foil. The foil is canted so that it guts through the water at about a 4 5 d eg re e angle, as is taught by the prior art, and functions to give some stability-to the craft when under sail.

To increase the stability of the present sailboat, the lower end of the canted foil has oppositely directed, normally projecting fins thereon that give the lower end of the foil an X configuration as it cuts through the water. The fins act as roll stabilizers, and have been found to add greatly to the overall stability of the sailboat.

The present sailing craft is intended to be steered by the feet of a person lying prone thereon, and for that purpose is equipped with a rudder pivotally connected to one end of a boom. The rudder has laterally projecting foot pedals on the opposite sides thereof, and the other end of the rudder boom is mounted to the hull so that the rudder can be longitudinally adjusted relative to the hull to accomodate persons of different leg lengths. Once the rudder has been properly adjusted longitudinally of the hull, a person steers the sailboat by placing his feet against the two foot pedals and then pivoting the rudder in the desired direction. The rudder itself is relatively thick and buoyant, to support the operators feet in the water.

The sailboat of the invention is compact, and of simple construction. The adjustable rudder boom and the adjustable outrigger apparatus both make use of a noval clamping device to secure such in place, the clamps consisting of a pair of sleeves within which the rudder boom and the foil boom of the outrigger apparatus are telescopically received. The inner clamp sleeve has circumferentially spaced bores therethrough, and the outer sleeve is a split band carrying clamping buttons that extend through the bores, the split band being tightened by a thumb screw to urge the clamping buttons radially inwardly into clamping engagement with the associated boom. The associated clamping devices are effective on watercraft even when wet, and yet are easily manipulated to provide for adjustment of the sailing craft to the user and the sailing circumstances.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a sailing craft for use by one person, which can be easily adjusted to the user and which is stable in operation.

Another object is to provide a feet-operated rudder arrangement for a watercraft, which can be adjusted to accomodate persons of different leg lengths.

A further object is to provide a foil outrigger type sailboat, wherein the foil is designed to control roll.

A still further object is to provide a clamp for a telescopic bracket, designed for effective clamping on watercraft, and easy operation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will become obvious from the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment, when taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the sailing craft of the invention, showing in particular the adjustable rudder apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the sailboat, taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1, and further showing the construction of the rudder apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, front view of the sailing craft of FIG. 1, showing in particular the novel roll stabilizer fin-equipped foil of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2, showing in detail the construction of the telescopic clamping device of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view, showing in detail the pivotal connection between the rudder and its supporting boom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, the sailing craft of the invention is indicated generally at 2 resting on a body of water W, the waterline being indicated at L. The craft 2 includes a floatation hull 4 that has the general configuration of a paddle board, and which is of a size to carry a person lying prone thereon. The lower end of a'mast 6 is footed within a cylindrical well 8 provided in the hull 4 near the bow thereof, and stability is given to the craft by a canted foil 10 mounted in spaced relationship to the hull by an outrigger arrangement 12.

Mounted within the hull 4 is a branched skeleton 14 of tubing, the vertical branch of such skeleton comprising the cylindrical tube or well 8 for footing the'mast 6. Extending rearwardly from the well 8 is the axial leg 16 of the skeleton 14, the outer end portion 17 of which projects outwardly through the stern of the hull 4, the axial leg 16 and its projecting end 17 having an oval cross-section, as shown in FIG. 4. The third leg 18 of the skeleton 14 extends laterally from near the well 8, and is inclined upwardly and rearwardly. The outer end 19 of the lateral skeleton leg 18 also projects through the hull4, and said leg has an oval crosssection like the axial skeleton leg 16, and forms a socket for telescopically receiving the inner end of an oval in cross-section boom 20 belonging to the outrigger arrangement 12.

The axial skeleton leg 16 serves to support rudder apparatus 22, which includes an oval in cross-section rudder boom 24 having its forward end telescopically received within the socket formed by the axial leg 16. The complementary oval configurations of the rudder boom 24 and the axial skeleton leg 16 prevent relative rotation therebetween, and the rudder boom is secured in place by a clamping device 26.

The clamping device 26 includes an inner sleeve consisting of the projecting outer end 17 of the axial skeleton leg 16, and which has four circumferentially spaced bores 30 extending through the sidewall thereof. Encircling the sleeve 17 is a split outer sleeve or band 32, the ends of which are welded to radially projecting flanges 34 having aligned threaded bores 36 therethrough for receiving a thumbscrew 38. The outer sleeve 32 has four inwardly projecting buttons 40 riveted or otherwise secured thereto, one in alignment with each bore 30. The buttons 40 include cylindrical body portions 42 that project through their associated bores 30, the inner ends of which are urged into tight engagement with the rudder boom 24 when the thumbscrew 38 is tightened. The clamping device 26 is of simple construction and easily operated, and yet will provide effective clamping action even when the telescopic members 16 and 24 are wet. Thus, the clamping device 26 is ideally suited for use on watercraft.

The rear end of the rudder boom 24 has a bracket 44 secured thereon, which terminates in a central hinge portion ,46 having a vertical hinge pin 48 mounted therein and which projects both thereabove and therebelow. A thick rudder 50 made of buoyant material is provided with vertically spaced, aligned hinge portions 52 secured to its leading edge by fasteners 54, and which receive the projecting ends of the hinge pin 48 to thereby pivotally mount the rudder 50. Projecting normally from the opposite sides of the rudder 50 at the waterline L are foot pedals 54, made of buoyant material and including normally projecting leading edges 56 for engagement by the users feet, and angled trailing edges 58. The pedal leading edges 56 are disposed rearwardly of the hinge pin 52, and thus by pushing on the pedals 54 alternately with one foot and then the other, the rudder 48 can be pivoted to steer the sailboat 2.

The position of the rudder 50 relative to the hull 4 is adjusted by first loosening the clamping device 26, and then sliding the boom 24 until the foot pedals 54 can be easily operated by a person lying on the hull in position for sailing. The clamping device 26 is then tightened to secure the rudder in place, the mating oval configurations of the rudder boom 24 and the axial skeleton portion 16 preventing rotation of the rudder 50 in the water, and the floatation characteristics of the rudder 50 and the pedals 54 being adequate to buoyantly support the users feet. With respect to the last point,

it should be noted that the foot pedals 54 are located at the water-line L.

Returning now to the foil boom 20, the inner end of such is received in the socket formed by the lateral branch 18 of the skeleton 14, the boom being secured in place by a clamping device 60 mounted on the projecting tubing end 19. The boom 20 and the tubing 18 are of oval configuration to prevent undesired rotation therebetween, and the clamping device 60 is constructed identically to the clamping device 2 6.

The foil or outrigger boom 20, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is curved like a bow and is inclined to be rearwardly of an imaginary line extending normally from the longitudinal axis of the skeleton 14 at the mast 6. Mounted on the outer end thereof is a foil assembly 62, including the foil 10 equipped with a floatation element 64 at the waterline L, and which has a bracket 66 secured to its upper, inner face. The outer end of the outrigger boom 20 is adjustably received in the bracket 66, to which it is secured by a clamping device 68 that is identical to the device 26. Y

The foil 10 is canted at about a 45 angle to the vertical, and is arranged to cut through the water parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hull 4. The position of the foil 10 relative to the hull 4 is set for maximum results, and thereafter the canted foil serves to give a degree of stability to the sailboat when such is underway.

The design and functioning of a canted foil is known in the sailing art, and need not be recited herein. Suffice it to say that such a foil acts similar to a centerboard to give stability to the craft. However, the common canted foil does not adequately dampen rolling action, and for that reason the foil 10 is provided near its lower edge with oppositely directed, normally projecting fins 70 that extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hull 4, and which give an X configuration to the lower portion of the foil.

The fins 70 extend the width of the foil 10, and as shown in FIG. 2 the outer edge 72 thereof is bowed in a smooth curve that decreases from a maximum in the center thereof to substantially no height at the opposite edges of the foil. The fins 70, in cooperation with the canted foil 10, serve to effectively restrain rolling action of the watercraft, and thus add greatly to the stability thereof.

The sailboat or watercraft 2 is provided with a triangular sail 74 carried by the mast 6, the inclined leading edge of the sail 74 being carried by a boom 76 that is suspended from the top of the mast by a universal fitting 78. The bottom of the sail 74 is secured to a main boom 80 that is pivoted near its forward end to the mast 6 by a fitting 82, the sail rig being controlled by a line 84. One end of the line 84 is fastened to an eye 86 on fitting 44, the line then leading through a pulley 88 near the outer end of the main boom 80, and a pulley 90 on the main boom just rearwardly of the mast 6.

The sailboat 2 can be sailed by a person lying prone on the paddle board hull, such person manipulating the sail line 84 with his hands and the rudder 50 with his feet, by the foot pedals 54. The craft is simple in design, the rudder 50 being easily adjustable. Moreover, the unique X shaped foil 10 ensures stability when underway, given normal circumstances. Thus, the watercraft 2 satisfies all of the objectives hereabove set forth.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention are possible. For example, while the onepiece skeleton 14 adds integrity and strength to the craft, each of the socket members provided thereby could be separate members, if desired. Such changes can be effected without impairing the invention, or the novel watercraft provided thereby.

I claim:

1. A sailboat, comprising: a paddle board hull; a mast carried by said hull for supporting a sail; stabilizer foil means supported outboard of said hull by outrigger apparatus; and rudder means carried by said hull, said rudder means being longitudinally adjustable and including: a rudder; foot pedal means on said rudder, engageable by the feet of a person positioned with the upper portion of his body resting on said hull for operating said rudder; and means pivotally mounting said rudder rearwardly of said hull, comprising: a tube carried by said hull, and including a portion projecting rearwardly therefrom; a boom, the forward end of said boom being telescopically received in said tube; bracket means on the rear end of said boom for pivotally mounting said rudder thereon; and releaseable clamping means for securing said boom to said hull.

2. A sailboat as recited in claim 1, wherein said foil means includes: a foil arranged to extend generally parmounting said rudder rearwardly of said hull; and foot pedal means on said rudder, engageable by the feet of a person positioned on said hull for operating said rudder, said rudder mounting means comprising: a tube carried by said hull, and including a portion projecting rearwardly therefrom; a boom, the forward end of said boom being telescopically received in said tube; bracket means on the rear end of said boom for pivotally mounting said rudder thereon; and releasable clamping means for securing said boom to said hull.

6. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said foot pedal means comprises oppositely projecting, horizontally disposed pedals on the opposite sides of said rudder.

7. In a watercraft as recited in claim 6, wherein said rudder and said foot pedals are made of buoyant material.

8. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said projecting tube end has a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings therein, and wherein said clamping means includes: a split sleeve encircling said projecting tube end; a plurality of radially inwardly projecting buttons carried by said split sleeve, one of said buttons being positioned to extend through each of said spaced openings; and means for moving the ends of said split sleeve toward and away from each other, to thereby advance and retract said radially directed buttons, respectively.

9. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said tube and said boom are of complementary, noncircular cross section, whereby rotation of said rudder about the axis of said boom is prohibited. 

1. A sailboat, comprising: a paddle board hull; a mast carried by said hull for supporting a sail; stabilizer foil means supported outboard of said hull by outrigger apparatus; and rudder means carried by said hull, said rudder means being longitudinally adjustable and including: a rudder; foot pedal means on said rudder, engageable by the feet of a person positioned with the upper portion of his body resting on said hull for operating said rudder; and means pivotally mounting said rudder rearwardly of said hull, comprising: a tube carried by said hull, and including a portion projecting rearwardly therefrom; a boom, the forward end of said boom being telescopically received in said tube; bracket means on the rear end of said boom for pivotally mounting said rudder thereon; and releaseable clamping means for securing said boom to said hull.
 2. A sailboat as recited in claim 1, wherein said foil means includes: a foil arranged to extend geNerally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said hull, and canted at an angle to the vertical; and at least one longitudinally extending fin on said canted foil.
 3. A sailboat as recited in claim 2, including a pair of oppositely directed fins on said canted foil near the lower edge thereof.
 4. A sailboat as recited in claim 3, wherein said foil is canted at about 45* to the vertical, and said fins project normally from said foil.
 5. In a watercraft: a hull; a rudder; means pivotally mounting said rudder rearwardly of said hull; and foot pedal means on said rudder, engageable by the feet of a person positioned on said hull for operating said rudder, said rudder mounting means comprising: a tube carried by said hull, and including a portion projecting rearwardly therefrom; a boom, the forward end of said boom being telescopically received in said tube; bracket means on the rear end of said boom for pivotally mounting said rudder thereon; and releasable clamping means for securing said boom to said hull.
 6. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said foot pedal means comprises oppositely projecting, horizontally disposed pedals on the opposite sides of said rudder.
 7. In a watercraft as recited in claim 6, wherein said rudder and said foot pedals are made of buoyant material.
 8. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said projecting tube end has a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings therein, and wherein said clamping means includes: a split sleeve encircling said projecting tube end; a plurality of radially inwardly projecting buttons carried by said split sleeve, one of said buttons being positioned to extend through each of said spaced openings; and means for moving the ends of said split sleeve toward and away from each other, to thereby advance and retract said radially directed buttons, respectively.
 9. In a watercraft as recited in claim 5, wherein said tube and said boom are of complementary, non-circular cross section, whereby rotation of said rudder about the axis of said boom is prohibited. 